Mets Interested in Moustakas, Frazier

Us baseball fans aren’t asking for too much. We just want some offseason action to bubble to the surface. Instead, all we’re getting are murmurs. The Chicago Cubs are willing to bring back Jake Arrieta, but that’s a little further down the road. Eric Hosmer reportedly has multiple offers, but Scott Boras denies that. The Yankees are asking about Manny Machado, but they’re not alone. J.D. Martinez reportedly has multiple offers as well, but there’s nothing remotely concrete. Plus, the Red Sox reportedly declined a trade we didn’t even know existed. But now, it appears the New York Mets want in on the fun.

If by ‘fun’, you assume we mean ‘productive players on owner-friendly deals.’ In other words, the Mets want to keep on being the Mets.

Reports indicate that the other New York baseball team is interested in Mike Moustakas or Todd Frazier to mad third base. But here’s the catch: the price has to be right. Here’s the other thing about that—no duh. Presumably, this is the thought process of every front office before entering free agency. Sure there are teams that can spend more than others, but the idea remains the same—the price, fit, etc all have to be right. But here’s the main takeaway:

“Whatever their current asking prices, the Mets want to pay less, and have been linked to the trade market as well.”

Again… no duh. That’s kind of how this works. Every team would like to pay less for their talent if they could. But that’s not typically how the free agent market operates.

As for the players themselves, well, the 29-year-old Moustakas would earn his second All-Star appearance last season. Despite the low OBP (.314), Moustakas would hit .272 and slug .521 (a career-high) while mashing 38 dingers—another career-mark. Todd Frazier would slash .213/.344/.428 with 27 dingers split between the White Sox and Yankees. Frazier, who turns 32 in February, figures to be cheaper.

In the meantime, the Mets want to improve from 19th in runs scored in 2017. If they can do so at a discount, that is.